Three foreign-born residents have filed a lawsuit against the Japanese government alleging racial discrimination and seeking more than $20,000 in compensation each.
Three plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in a Tokyo court earlier this week alleging that Japanese police discriminated against them during questioning based solely on their skin color, nationality, and other racial factors.
Matthew, who moved from India to Japan more than 20 years ago after getting married and now holds Japanese citizenship, said he is constantly stopped and questioned by police on the streets. Sometimes, this happens twice a day. Things have gotten so bad that at times he's afraid to leave his house.
Syed Zain, originally from Pakistan, thought that Japanese people had a preconceived notion that those born abroad like him would commit crimes. "I cooperated with the police because I thought ensuring public safety was important. But when this happened more than 10 times, I really started to have doubts," he said.
Maurice, an American, said he hoped the lawsuit would raise awareness among Japanese people about the issue of racial discrimination.
From left to right: Syed Zain, Maurice, and Matthew outside a Tokyo courthouse in Japan on January 29. Photo: AFP
The three plaintiffs are seeking 3 million yen (over $20,000 USD) in compensation from the Japanese government, along with the Tokyo metropolitan government and the Aichi prefecture government, for each of them.
The Aichi Prefectural government declined to comment on specific cases, but said its police officers are trained in "respect for human rights " and are committed to performing their duties in accordance with the prefecture's human rights regulations.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government also stated that it issued regulations on human rights in 2019, provided relevant training programs for police officers, conducted educational activities on respecting the human rights of citizens, including foreigners, and eliminated racial discrimination.
Japanese citizens of foreign origin make up approximately 2.3% of the East Asian nation's population, the lowest percentage among countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The Japanese use the word "hafu," meaning half, to refer to people who are half Japanese. This shows that people of foreign origin face discrimination even if they are Japanese citizens.
Japan has seen some controversies related to racial bias in recent years. In 2019, the noodle company Nissin had to apologize after being accused of "whitewashing" tennis star Naomi Osaka, who is of Japanese and Haitian descent. In the company's animated advertisement, Naomi Osaka was portrayed as a girl with white skin, brown hair, and features typical of a white person.
A beauty pageant in Japan this month also sparked controversy when it crowned Ukrainian-born model Karolina Shiino as the "representative beauty of all Japanese women." Many critics debated whether someone without Japanese ancestry could truly represent the country's beauty standards.
Song Shiino, a naturalized citizen of Nagoya since the age of five, said she considers herself "completely Japanese" and wants to be recognized. "We are living in an era of diversity, where diversity is essential," she said.
Thanh Tam (Based on CNN, NHK, AFP )
Source link
Comment (0)